Archive for tag:
acupuncture

Two weeks until graduation, but this will be my last blog. This
past week has been crazy. I think I have spent every extra minute
studying for my HB Kim herb test as well as my herb board. I will
admit I am burned out. As much as I study, sometimes I feel as if
it goes in one ear and out the other. This may be in part due to
plans of my future business rolling around in the back of my mind
or the valedictorian speech I need to write. It seems like every
minute counts in these last few weeks.

As much as I feel I have studied for my herb test, in actuality
I have yet to even conquer all the information. I have found that
spending extra time in the herb room with the herbs and preparing
formulas for the other interns has helped me remember the herbs
better. I am a visual learner, so seeing the herbs over and over
again actually helps me remember what they do. So, if you are
thinking about studying herbs, the herb room may benefit you as
well.

My fellow graduate has passed three of his board tests so I
shouldn't be worried about taking them. National's classes really
do prepare the student for the boards. The key to success, however,
is to stay on top of your studies and don't wait until the last
minute to cram. Cramming may allow you to pass the test, but when
it comes to board or comp exams, it just won't cut it.

My fellow student Kim (pictured above) will be taking over the
AOM blog (view Kim's
blog). She transferred in from another TOM school and is sure
to shed a new light of comparisons between schools. She comes with
a lot of experience having worked with an acupuncturist in the
field, and may share that with you, too. I had hopes of shadowing a
few acupuncturists but unfortunately with my schedule I was not
able to.

So my last word of advice is: If your schedule allows, try
calling an acupuncturist in the area and asking if you may shadow
them for a few days to experience how an actual practice runs. They
have much information that may assist you in the future.

Well, it was my pleasure sharing my school experiences with you
and I hope it has shed some light as to what it is like to be a
student at National. In good health :)

Editor's Note: Congratulations, Elizabeth, on your
achievement as the valedictorian of the Summer 2011 graduation
class, and best wishes for an exciting and successful
practice.

As I stated in last week's blog, I planned to interview one of
the graduates who went to China.

A little background: Dr. Cai has connections with one of the
hospitals in Xi'an and is friends with one of the hospital
directors. More than a year ago, she set up a program for the
students. In exchange for a year in China teaching English at
Shaanxi University, the students are able to study in the hospital
with the other doctors. The students are given housing and paid a
minimal wage to teach. They also receive two months off in the
summer to travel. Cherlyn, one of the herbal students, left in
February to travel to China and is currently on summer break and
visiting us.

Culture

As I talked with Cherlyn at dinner, she stated what a big
culture shock it is to be in China. They are living in one of the
oldest Chinese cities and it shows. There were a few surprises that
they have had to become accustomed to, such as the plumbing, but
that is such a small quirk compared to the beauty of the city.
Everyone is really friendly and like family. Many of the dinners
are focused around "dim sum," which is like a big lazy susan where
all the food is shared among those at the table. It's like
Thanksgiving every night.

Studies

At the hospital, where she spends four hours a couple of times a
week, she has enjoyed learning new techniques that are not taught
in the U.S. For instance, they do a lot of herbal injections into
acupuncture points. This could be for menstrual cramps, to induce
labor, for Bell's palsy, and much more.

She has also seen them do a lot of blood transfusions. For
example, the doctor will extract blood from the cubital vein and
then energetically inject it into ST 36. ST 36, Zu San Li , is a
very important and powerful point in Chinese medicine. In Chinese
literature, it is often said to moxa this point every day to bring
long life.

She has also seen a lot of flash cupping done to the face for
Bell's palsy. She said the doctors treat a lot of facial paralysis
at the hospital. Cherlyn and her roommate Andrea, also a graduate
of NUHS, have put together a website, Jouneys to Healing Medicine, to share their
experiences and new knowledge. She says she really enjoys China and
all the new experiences it brings her. She also likes the downtime
to practice yoga every morning and read books she has always
wanted.

Hot air
balloons at Eyes to the Sky festival in Lisle.

Well, that's all for now, I hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth
of July.

Hello, prospective students! If you are new to my page you may
not know that I will be graduating in August. Yay!

About a month back I took the first of my four board exams. Some
states only require three, so to see what your state requires you
may go to nccaom.org and browse for state requirements.
Usually when you take the computerized board exam it will tell you
if you passed, but since the biomedical portion is so new they are
still working out kinks so they mail the results. It's grueling
because you have to wait 30 days. I received my results this week
and I passed! It is such a good feeling to see the
results.

Besides my results, I had a good week in clinic. I had 16
patient visits to add to my tally sheet to meet my 450 total
patient visits for all my clinic shifts. I saw my continuing
patients but also a few new cases. I filled in for an intern who
usually sees PTSD patients. These patients receive specific
auricular points to help cope with their stress and anxiety. These
patients are so grateful because they are experiencing results and
receive the treatments for free.

Something Different

Dr. Yihyun Kwon has started to see stroke patients in the
clinic. This is part of his ongoing stroke clinical study on the
results of acupuncture and herbs in stroke victims with any kind of
paralysis. I have been very lucky to be able to observe his cases
as he takes a history, needles and gives the patients instructions
on home exercises and dietary changes. Some of the points he uses
are not commonly used in clinic, as well as his needling method, so
it is fascinating!

On Thursday I had the pleasure of eating with one of my favorite
professors. She wanted to cook for a fellow acupuncture grad who
has treated her in the past. It was her way of saying thank you to
the grad and she invited me as well. We had a feast, as you can see
in the pictures. We had noodles, fried rice, tofu, shrimp, fish,
baby bok choy, dumplings, and egg drop soup. Oh my, it was so much
food and so yummy!

This trimester has brought much change to the clinic
environment. Most of the change is good and the rest just needs
mending.

Previously, we saw three return patients a shift, with
approximately an hour and 15 minutes for each patient. Currently,
we have two shifts, one from 8 am to noon and the second from 1
p.m. to 5 p.m. That also may be changing with the addition of
students to the clinic shifts. There has been talk of schedule
changes this whole trimester but they finally have been
implemented.

The new schedule

The new schedule allots an hour for a return patient and an hour
and a half for a "new" patient (previously two and a half hours).
The "new" patient visit lasts longer because a full exam and
history must be done. An exam includes blood pressure, pulse rate,
respiration and temperature, and it can include orthopedic and
neurological exams. A chiropractic intern joins us to ask any
additional questions and provide a western diagnosis for insurance
and charting purposes. In Illinois, acupuncturists cannot diagnose
a patient with a disease. The new patient also receives acupuncture
and herbs, if necessary. So with the new schedule, this is all done
in an hour and a half, an hour shorter than the previous time
schedule.

A positive is the student is faced with a realistic time slot
for future practice arrangements. For me personally, I think it
will be a big challenge to get a full history and exam with the
allotted time, especially with all the discussion that is involved
with the clinicians that also takes time. Another positive to the
new schedule is that it will eventually allow the intern to see
four patients a shift. This will add ease to those that are behind
on their numbers to graduate.

Another change

The other change is the individual evaluations given daily by
the clinicians. Each intern will be evaluated by his/her clinician
daily with a weekly prognosis sent by email. I appreciate this
because the intern can see their growth through their time as an
intern. It can also be a good tool for the student to ask
questions on how to improve if their comments did not meet their
expectations.

Currently, the process is in a transition because each clinic
shift receives a letter grade that reflects our number score of the
average of the evaluations. We as a student body are requesting
that this change to a pass or fail system, so as it will not affect
our grade point average. This is important to those that rely on
scholarships to help fund their schooling. It is hoped that with
time everything will fall into place.

Dr. Hyundo Kim is pictured above. He is my Monday clinician as
well a previous professor. Dr. Kim provides us with much knowledge
of differential diagnosis as well as how to create great herbal
formulas.

All those wondering about the effectiveness of acupuncture
should save the date, 3/15 and 3/16 at 7pm to come to National
University to see the famous film "9000 Needles." The film follows
a 40-year-old stroke victim who after exhausting all of his other
options travels to Tian Jin University in China, to see what
acupuncture and Chinese Medicine has to offer in aiding his
recovery. After the film, one of my favorite professors will be
speaking about his experience with stroke. Dr. Yihyun Kwon received
his DAOM in China and wrote his thesis on stroke.

So don't miss it!! The film will be showing in our Student
Center. Hope to see you there :)

Psychopathology Midterm

Hey there, everyone, well I made it through my psychopathology
midterm. It was as I predicted, hard. There were 10
questions, three of which were essay and the others short
answer. One of the short answer questions was a seven-part
essay with in-depth descriptions in each part. We had two hours in
which to complete the task and I, like always, used the whole time
but definitely could have used another half hour. I guess I am just
a slow test taker.

Herbal Seminar 4 Midterm

My second test was on Friday and even though I have studied
throughout the trimester, I still feel like I didn't have a grip on
all of the info, however, the test wasn't that bad. Herbal Seminar
4 also was essay and short answer questions. Essay questions are
practical in this part of our education because they simulate a
real patient. These herbal seminar classes take herbs to another
level because not only do we need to know the function of the
formulas (in pinyin), but also we now have to memorize every
ingredient and dosage. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining; I
am preparing those future herbal students for what is to come.

So much coffee has made it difficult for me to sleep and a few
nights I don't fall asleep 'til 4:00am, which is frustrating. So I
did my body a favor and went to get acupuncture myself and Dr. Cai
helped me modify a few formulas to suit my TCM pattern
diagnosis.

Granules are an addition to the herb room. Granules are raw
herbs but better because they are already cooked and all one has to
do is dissolve them in hot water and drink. So of course, with my
hectic schedule I prepared them in granule form. They look and
smell so good. A plethora of colors! But don't worry we still
offer raw herbs and patent formulas.